Earlier this year, more than a few projects fell apart for Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, who was just coming off the success of “Bronson” and a successful TIFF premiere of this summer’s “Valhalla Rising.”
He had to pass on his “Jekyll & Hyde” project with Keanu Reeves and “The Dying Of The Light,” starring Harrison Ford and Channing Tatum, crumbled under the weight of studio deals (or potentially Ford’s notoriously cold feet).
But things have come together for his next project “Drive,” of which he was so excited about working with Ryan Gosling, he flipped his plans and pushed back his neo-Western, “Only God Forgives” which he says he’ll be shooting immediately after this neo-noir thriller about a Hollywood stunt driver (Gosling) who finds more excitement as a wheelman during robberies.
The film is already set for a September 20th shoot in L.A., so casting is ramping up. When we spoke to Refn earlier this summer, he said he had actors in mind, and one in particular for the villain role, but he said he didn’t have anyone secured just yet.
But that has changed. Film School Rejects just talked to the filmmaker and he said AMC’s “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston has joined the cast. We should have guessed as much. After telling us about the roles in “Drive” he hadn’t yet full cast, he praised the show among some other greats that have graced the small screen of late. “I think television is gotten so good. Genre shows like ‘Breaking Bad’ or ‘Sopranos’ and ‘The Wire’ have also set the bar very high for cinema.”
We imagine more deals will fall in place and thus more actors will be announced soon. Anyone got a script? We’d love to read this one.
